US President Barack Obama yesterday chided Vietnam on political freedoms after critics of the communist-run government were prevented from meeting him in Hanoi, a discordant note on a trip otherwise steeped in words of amity between the former foes.
Tens of thousands turned out to welcome Obama on the second leg of his visit, to Ho Chi Minh City, which was called Saigon until April 1975.
Many in the crowd that lined the streets chanted: “Obama, Obama” as his motorcade arrived to visit the century-old Jade Emperor Pagoda. Some held handwritten signs reading: “Obama, we love you,” and one woman held a boy dressed in a Captain America costume, complete with shield.
Photo: EPA
Underlining the importance of the growing economic ties between the two former foes, Obama held an open forum with young entrepreneurs and laid out the benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact between 12 Pacific Rim countries.
However, the high point of his visit was on Monday, with his announcement that Washington is scrapping its embargo on the sale of lethal arms to Vietnam. That clears the biggest hurdle remaining between two countries drawn together by concern over China’s military build-up.
Critics said that by removing the ban, a vestige of the Vietnam War, Washington had put concerns about Beijing’s assertiveness in the South China Sea first and given up a critical lever to press Hanoi for improvements in human rights.
One prominent intellectual, Nguyen Quang A, said that about 10 policemen had come to his house at 6:30am and put him in a car that was driven out of the capital until Obama was about to leave.
An outspoken lawyer, Ha Huy Son, said he was also stopped from joining a meeting Obama held with six other civil society leaders.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said a journalist who was also invited had been arrested on Monday.
“The Vietnam government has demonstrated today that it doesn’t deserve the closer ties the US is offering,” HRW Asia advocacy director John Sifton said.
Obama commented later that several activists had been blocked from attending and said this was an indication that, despite some “modest” legal reforms “there are still folks who find it very difficult to assemble and organize peacefully around issues that they care deeply about.”
“There are still areas of significant concern in terms of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, accountability with respect to government,” he said.
Quang A, a former information technology entrepreneur, was one of more than 100 Vietnamese who tried to run as independents for last weekend’s election to the parliament, which is tightly controlled by the Vietnamese Communist Party.
Before he was taken away, Quang A posted on Facebook a photograph of himself dressing for the meeting with Obama, with the message: “Before going. May be intercepted, arrested. Advising so people know.”
The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a speech before leaving Hanoi, Obama dwelt on the importance of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, where China has been turning remote outcrops into islands with runways and harbors.
“Big nations should not bully small ones. Disputes should be resolved peacefully,” he said, without naming China.
In Ho Chi Minh City, Obama interviewed three young entrepreneurs in front of an audience at a co-working space called Dreamplex that hosts budget tech startups and is supported by angel investors and Silicon Valley funds.
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